1. Field
The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A power switching system for driving various types of motors; may require switching an AC current to a DC current, a DC current to an AC current, and one type of DC current to another type of DC current. In these devices, the flow of current may be controlled by using an ON/OFF switching device. Such a device may correspond to a power semiconductor such as a power MOSFET, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), or a Schottky barrier diode (SBD).
In a power switching system that implements power factor correction (PFC), the overall efficiency of the power switching system may depend on efficiency of a power switching device (including a diode). Currently used power switching devices are silicon-based diodes. However, due to material limits of silicon, the ability to improve the efficiency of the power switching device is limited.
Recently, research for improving power switching efficiency has focused on fabricating a Schottky barrier diode using a gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor. However, due to a wide band gap, a GaN semiconductor has strengths in terms of reverse leakage current and withstanding voltage, but also has high forward turn-on voltage which may prove to be a drawback for some applications.